There were no ceremonies to see if a varmint sees his shadow, and snow storms are still pummeling the Northeast, but mercifully, baseball’s interminable winter is over.

One hundred thirty-days after the Houston Astros were last seen jumping into one another’s arms and even proposing to girlfriends, we can finally celebrate the end of the coldest baseball winter on record.

Just 2 ½ weeks remain before baseball’s Opening Day, but only now can we actually judge the off-season, providing the biggest winners and losers of this bizarre winter.

The torn, frayed, and soiled envelopes, please:

Best winter, player

Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees: Stanton is the only man in baseball who actually gets to play where he wanted, and received every penny he felt that he deserves, transferring from Major League Baseball’s swamplands to baseball’s most iconic franchise.

The Miami Marlins threatened Stanton during the winter that if he didn’t accept a deal to the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals, he’d be stuck in Miami for the rest of his career.

Stanton called their bluff.

He wound up with the powerful Yankees less than a week later, and yes, still gets the remaining $295 million of his salary - and an opt-out clause after 2019, if so inclined.

Worst winter, player

Mike Moustakas, Kansas City Royals: Moustakas produced the finest season of his career last season, hitting a franchise-record 38 homers for the Kansas City Royals, believing free agency would land him a five-year contract worth about $95 million.

The entire winter passed, and his phone never rang with a single contract offer.

He wound up back in Kansas City last weekend on a paltry one-year, $6.5 million deal - barely one-third of reliever Tommy Hunter’s guarantee with the Philadelphia Phillies.

He actually had to take a $2.2 million pay cut just to play baseball again this year.

It was the easily ugliest outcome of the winter.

Best winter, team

Philadelphia Phillies: What do you know, a baseball team actually spent money this winter?

The Phillies, perhaps perturbed by five consecutive losing seasons and the notion of the Eagles' grip on the market only growing firmer, dropped $169 million on the free-agent market. They signed first baseman Carlos Santana to a three-year, $60 million contract in December, shored up their bullpen by signing Pat Neshek and Hunter, and then jumped on Arrieta’s fallen market with a three-year, $75 million deal.

Finally, a team that shrugged at the loss of draft picks, forfeiting their second round and third round picks, and pronouncing that their rebuild is over.

And they did it without the risk of being stuck with a long, unwieldy contract. In fact, Arrieta and Santana's contracts will expire in what would be just the second year of a megadeal for one (or more) of the many superstar players hitting the market next winter.

They’re not quite ready for contention, but a year from now when Bryce Harper leaves the Washington Nationals, the NL East will be wide open.

Derek Jeter began a perhaps unavoidable rebuild, but it may take much longer to earn the trust of Miami Marlins fans.(Photo: Scott Rovak, USA TODAY Sports)

Worst winter, team

Miami Marlins: Remember when South Florida wildly celebrated the departure of owner Jeffrey Loria and the arrival of Yankees icon Derek Jeter?

The honeymoon was over by last call at the Clevelander.

Sure, it was time for the Marlins to face reality and rebuild, but it still was stunning to see the swiftness of the wrecking ball to this franchise.

The entire star-studded outfield is gone in Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich. So is their batting and stolen base champion in Dee Gordon. Oh, and if you need a veteran infielder in Martin Prado or a reliever in Brad Ziegler, all it takes is a phone call.

Jeter is not Loria, but twice-bitten fans in South Florida can be forgiven if it takes them a minute to believe in this regime.

Best winter, executive

Billy Eppler, Los Angeles Angels GM: Eppler, taking shrewd advantage of the strange market, spent conservatively without surrendering a draft pick while still staying under the luxury tax, lured the only player everyone in baseball wanted (Shohei Ohtani), retained a marquee slugger (Justin Upton), signed a third baseman who was an All-Star shortstop (Zack Cozart) and traded for a four-time All-Star second baseman (Ian Kinsler).

Just like that, the Angels have their best team since the arrival of Mike Trout.

They’re not going to challenge the powerful Houston Astros in the AL West, but are finally legitimate wild-card contenders.

Worst winter, executive

Tony Clark: The executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association was widely ridiculed by players and agents for the flaws in the collective bargaining agreement. They’re infuriated that Clark and the union's executive team didn’t see what was coming with the luxury tax threshold turning into a salary cap, and teams surrendering before the season even starts.

The union has three years to retrench before their next trip to the negotiating table, but the fallout from the past two collective bargaining agreements will cast a pall on their membership until then.

No agent was hit harder than Scott Boras, who represented 15 free agents, and tumbled from his mountaintop.

Why, outside Eric Hosmer’s eight-year, $144 million contract with the San Diego Padres, there wasn’t a single signing that Boras will include on his glossy dossier recruiting players.

J.D. Martinez (five years, $110 million) got virtually half of the $200 million he was seeking. Arrieta fell $100 million short of expectations. Moustakas was at least $80 million light of projections. And Holland, the National League’s saves leader, still is unemployed.

Champions of restraint

New York Yankees: They have threatened to get under the luxury tax for the last couple of decades, and actually mean it this time.

They acquired Stanton and picked up $265 million of his remaining $295 million contract, and stopped spending. They brought back CC Sabathia on a one-year, $10 million contract and second baseman Neil Walker to a one-year, $5 million deal and traded for low-cost infielder Brandon Drury . That’s it. Who would ever have thought we’d see the day that 23 teams would spend more money in free agency this winter than the Yankees?

Candor champion, player

Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers: "Maybe we have to go on strike, to be honest with you,’’ Jansen blurted out at the Dodgers’ Fan Fest, and continued to double down during spring training. “I’m going to have to have that talk to the union, and we’ll see how it goes from there.’’

Candor champion, executive

Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto: Dipoto was speaking from his heart, but perhaps not his head, not realizing the ramifications when he became the first club executive to agree with the union that the system is grossly flawed.

“You could argue you're going to compete with more clubs to get the first pick in the draft,’’ Dipoto said, “than you would to win the World Series.’’

It was the quote the union is using to wallpaper its office, much to Commissioner Rob Manfred's chagrin, and it's safe to say Dipoto may never address that topic again.